Ambrosia
by CartoonGeek88
Summary: SPECIAL THANKS TO RIFT'S-SONG. Cindy Blakeman uses art as an escape from her dysfunctional home life. What happens when one of her drawings comes to life after accidentally being discarded, discovering she has no toonish abilities? A tale of friendship, and self-discovery unfolds as the Warners teach Ambrosia that sometimes a little laughter is all it takes.
1. Chapter 1

_She was born on a Wednesday. A windy Wednesday in April, in the city of Burbank, California._

* * *

In an old apartment complex near downtown Burbank, was the bedroom of a high school sophmore named Cindy Blakeman. The fourteen year old sat on her bed, her back leaning against the wall, drawing on a piece of scratchpaper. She narrowed her eyes, deep in concentration, as she began to put the finishing touches on her sketch.

She had drawn an animated white rabbit, who's eyes were an earthy shade of green. She wore a cute little red skirt and a red bow that tied her ears together. She stood there, her arms crossed with a rather unamused look on her face. She was cute, but looked rather unapproachable.

Cindy smiled a little to herself as she finished the drawing, pinning it to a board next to her window, along with what looked like concept art of the same character. This new picture was obviously the finished product.

As she sat there, she shivered a tad. The wind from the open window sent a rather uncomfortable chill down her spine, but the AC in her family's apartment had stopped working last month, and if she wanted to keep her room from becoming a desert in the Southern California sun, she would just have to deal with it.

Her parents said that they didn't have the money to get the AC fixed, but Cindy knew a lie when she heard one. Truthfully, it wasn't a matter of _having_ the money, more so how _willing_ her father was to spend it on anything but his all night escapades. She had made a comment much like that in front of her mother, earning her the chewing out of a lifetime.

 _"I don't know who you think you are with that smart mouth of yours, but you better fix your attitude. Your father makes the money. He decides what we can afford. He'll get it fixed when he can. Until then be grateful for a roof over your head."_

Cindy rolled her eyes at the memory. The last time she had seen denial like that she was looking through a National Geographic on Egypt...

She heard snoring come from the living room. Her father must have gotten home recently and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Cindy shook her head in amazement. Home by 7am? A new personal best...

As Cindy complained to herself, she heard the familiar sound of the school bus pulling up outside the apartment building. 7am...she was late!

Cindy rushed around her bedroom, gathering her papers and shoving them in her backpack haphazardly. In her fumbling around, the teenager accidentally knocked into the board, knocking out some of the pins. As papers started to fall to the floor, a couple of them were caught on the breeze and flown out the window. One of them being the drawing of the rabbit.

Cindy raced through the dirty living room, Cindy being the only one who tried keeping things tidy, where her father lay deeply asleep. Her mother sat at the table in the kitchen, flipping through a magazine and ignoring the mountain of dishes that filled the sink. Cindy rushed a goodbye to her, despite her mother being too absorbed in her reading to give more than a "Mhm" in response.

She managed to catch the bus right as the driver went to close the door. Cindy practically got herself caught in it in her haste, earning snickers from the other passengers. The bus driver gave Cindy an annoyed look as she climbed aboard, her face turning red. She slid into the nearest seat, looking out the window to avoid anyone's gaze. Taking her discman out, she slipped on her headphones to drown out the chatter.

She sighed to herself and settled into the seat, her forehead pressed against the window as she listened to her music.

* * *

The paper that the rabbit cartoon had been drawn on fluttered through the air on the morning breeze. It flew through the dirty streets of Burbank and weaved in and out of the passerby as they made their morning commute. At one point, it became stuck to the front bumber of a car, before being blown over a chain link fence, until finally it became stuck in the bars of a storm drain.

It was then, on the now dirty and crumpled paper, the little bunny's nose gave a twitch. Then blinked, before her face went from its frozen unamused look to one of suprise.

 _I can...move?_

She gasped.

 _I can think!_

The rabbits large green eyes widened with suprise as she realized her first view of the world was that of the smoggy sky.

 _Okay. Depressing._ She thought to herself. _But shouldn't my creator be there?_

The Toon decided that the best way to get an answer to that question would be to take a peek. She pondered how to do that for a moment, before looking down at the rest of her and getting an idea. After a moment of concentration, the bunny was able to drum up some feeling in her hands, testing them out by wiggling her gloved fingers. After being satisfied, she pressed her hands flat against the paper, she pushed against it with all her might.

POP!

Her whole upper body became free of the paper. Looking proud of herself, the Toon did the same with her feet until she burst from the paper and was flung backwards onto the sidewalk. Picking herself up, she looked down at herself, now full sized and grimaced. She was all scuffed and dirty looking from where the paper had gotten messed up. She sighed in irritation.

"Great." She muttered. "First look anyone gets at me and I look like a regular ragamuffin..."

She looked around, expecting to see her creator looking at her, only to find that anyone around her was walking right by and not sparing her even a second glance. She suddenly felt unease rise up in the pit of her stomach as she looked down at the discarded paper and put two and two together.

 _Was I...thrown away?_

The bunny instantly pushed that thought out of her head. No. It had to have been an accident. Maybe her paper had just blown off a stack at a coffee shop or something. There's no way someone would have worked so hard on a drawing, completed it, and then just tossed it.

The Toon curled her fists in determination. Time to go on a search mission. If her creator wasn't here, she would go seek them out.

With that thought dead set in her head, the bunny set off at a purposeful quick pace down the street, confident that there was nothing that could get in the way of her mission.

* * *

At the very same time- the trio destined to stand in the way of her mission had burst from their water tower to start their day.

"GOOOOOOOOD MORNING CALI-FOR-NI-AY!" Yakko yelled into a radio microphone he had gotten from his hammerspace. He was dressed as a TV weather man as he stood on the walkway of the tower. "It's a beeeUTIFUL day here in Burbank where everyone is just dying to get out into that fresh, polluted air!" He zips down to the ground, his sibs following close behind him. They came to an abrupt stop at the bottom as Yakko grinned.

"Wakko?"

The middle Warner sibling grinned his open mouthed grin as he pulled out his gag bag and rooted around inside. After a few seconds, he had pulled out a three seated go cart. The siblings jumped inside, Yakko at the wheel and his brother and sister beside him. The eldest sibling floored the gas, sending them zooming off way faster than a go cart should be able to go. They zipped right past Ralph, who had no time to react and fell over in surprise. After he got up, he glared at the siblings and grabbed his net, ready for another long day of hunting them down.

* * *

The lone rabbit Toon stood outside the coffee shop, her face pressed against the glass. No one seemed to recognize her in the slightest. The Toon frowned. This was the only place she could find people writing or working on projects that was a reasonable distance from where she had come to life. Surely if they were around they would be here. Unless they had left already?

The bunny turned away from the window, plopping down on the ground with a small huff and crossing her arms. She scowled at the cement. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Hey! You there!" A loud voice called from the doorway. The rabbit Toon, thinking maybe she was recognized, turned her head quickly with a hopeful look on her face. A cranky looking barista was glaring at her. "Yes?"

"Didn't you see the sign?" He snapped, pointing to the "No Loitering" sign on the window. The rabbit Toon looked up at it, then back to the barista. Not liking his tone very much, she crossed her arms. "Cool it, buster brown, I'm waiting for someone." She snapped back.

"Oh, you wanna be that way, huh?"

"Maybe I d-HEY!"

The rabbit Toon was grabbed by her ears and raised up so that she could be face to face with the barista.

"Put me down, jerk!" She yelled angrily, struggling in midair. The barista just laughed. "Not too tough now, are you little bunny?" He sneered. The Toon was starting to get mad, her fists clenched. "Little bunny, huh?"

The Toon reared one of her feet back and socked the barista right in the face.

"OW!" The barista dropped the Toon and gingerly touched his nose. He glared down at the Toon, furiously. "Why you little..."

He advanced on the bunny, who backed away nervously before taking off at a run. The angry barista took off after her. She kept a good distance at first, but realized he was starting to close in on her after the first block. She looked back at him over her shoulders and gulped. This wasn't good.

 _Wait! Duh! I can lose him with Toonspeed!_

The rabbit closed her eyes and went to rev up, only to realize nothing was happening. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock and confusion.

"What the heck?!" She said aloud. "Why can't I speed up?!"

She looked back again and saw she was moments away from being caught. Her eyes went wide. This wasn't good...

She turned forward again to see that she had turned into a dead end. Running into the wall, she fell onto her back. From where she lay, she saw the upside form of the barista slowly closing in on her with a victorious grin.

"Gotcha now, you little-"

But what he was about to call her, she didn't get to hear. For right at that moment, a go cart came crashing through a wall and not only landed right on top of him, but scattered debris all over the place.

The rabbit Toon stared with wide eyed shock and confusion at the Warner siblings as they sat inside their go cart, looking at a map like they were trying to figure out were they were. Not paying any mind to the rabbit Toon or the man seeing stars underneath them.

"Hmmm...this isn't right." Yakko mused, looking at the map. "We are most _definitely_ lost."

Dot sat with her arms crossed and giving her eldest brother a hard look. "I told you to ask someone for directions."

Yakko rolled his eyes at his nagging younger sister, before leaning down and holding the map out to the barista they had knocked silly.

"Exqueez me, but, can you tell us how to get to Wacky Willie's Wig and Malt Shop Emporium?" He asked.

Wakko, who had been sitting there idly, was the first to notice the bunny as she stood there looking completely shell shocked.

"Hey!" He said pointing at her. "Who is that?"

Yakko's attention was pulled away from the barista, who's face he and Dot were drawing, on over to the bunny. He blinked, before grinning his trademark grin.

"Ahhhhh, it looks like the plot!"


	2. Chapter 2

_She was lost in a big world with no idea she had already been found._

* * *

The rabbit toon looked from the barista, still underneath the go cart, to the three peculiar looking toons in front of her as they hopped from the go cart and, in the blink of an eye, were right in front of her. They all wore matching grins; and their eyes held a certain...demented kind of look.

"Hi there!" Yakko said.

"...Hello." The bunny replied. She backed away a couple steps. These three were invading her bubble. They obviously had no regard for boundaries.

"Whatcha doin in a gross ally?" Dot asked sweetly.

"Are you a hobo?" Wakko asked innocently.

The rabbit's nose crinkled in annoyance at the middle silbling's question. "No. I am not a hobo, thank you." She replied, irritation coating her voice.

"Then what studio do you live in?" Dot asked.

"I don't live in a studio." The bunny answered.

 _At least, not that I know of..._

 _"_ Well, who drew you then?" Yakko prodded, his brow raised.

"I...I don't know." She admitted.

"So you're just wandering the streets with no place to go." Yakko concluded.

"Yeah...I guess..."

Wakko stared blankly at the rabbit. "So...you're a hobo."

"I'M NOT A HOBO!" The rabbit toon snapped, losing her cool for a second there. She huffed and crossed her arms. "Now. If you'll excuse me."

With that, the toon walked briskly past the Warner siblings, determined to continue her quest. She grumbled to herself, wondering what the heck was up with those weirdo toons and all their questions. She made it about half a block before she realized she was not alone. The Warners were following her in a line. Yakko directly behind her, and Wakko and Dot following him. They all mimicked her posture and grumpy expression, as if playing follow the leader. Ambrosia growled and turned around, causing Yakko to stop abruptly and his siblings to bump into him.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"Well," Yakko said, his arms folded behind his back while he wore a cheeky smirk. "For starters, maybe a thank you for saving your fur back there!"

"We accept gift cards." Dot interjected.

"I didn't need your help."

"I'm sure." Yakko replied sarcastically, causing the bunny to glare at him. "And then maybe after that we were thinking something along the lines of an introduction. Then maybe after that some sushi. I'm a mite peckish."

The rabbit continued to glare at Yakko, feeling more and more annoyed the longer she listened to him talk. He just stared back with that infuriating little cocky smirk. Ambrosia couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but something about Yakko got under her skin. Still...if playing along got them to leave her alone...

"Alright. Thank you for saving me." She grumbled. "I guess I didn't have it completely under control..." The bunny's glare melted away a little as she attempted to look a bit more approachable. "Who are you guys, anyway?

That demented look in the trio's eyes grew even more so with excitement as Wakko jumped onto Yakko's shoulders.

"We're the Warner Brothers!" They said together. Dot sweetly pranced to their side, all aglow with cuteness. "And the Warner Sister." She added.

"I'm Yakko, and my sibs are Wakko and Dot."

"What's your name?" Wakko asked, dismounting from his brother's shoulders.

The toon opened her mouth to speak, but then came to the unpleasent realization that she didn't have a name. Her creator didn't give her a name!? What the heck was going on here? It was bad enough that the bunny was completely lost with no idea where her home was, if she even had one. Or that she had no idea what her own creator even looked like, let alone where to find them...but she DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A NAME?

"My name..." the bunny stalled. "My name is..."

Her eyes shifted around her, trying to latch on to some form of inspiration. Finally she found it as her glance fell upon an advertisement for a new Thai resturant.

 _Ambrosia_

She smiled to herself as she thought about how pretty and natural it sounded in her head.

"Ambrosia. Call me Ambrosia. Now, sorry to be rude, but I really have to go..."

She turned to walk away again, only to see Yakko directly in front of her. She shrieked in suprise, bumping into him.

"How did you-"

"Where ya going?" The eldest Warner inquired.

"I've gotta go find my creator."

"The creator you've never met?" Yakko raised a brow.

Ambrosia felt a fresh twinge of irritation. "The very same."

"How are you going to find someone if you dont know who you're looking for?" Wakko asked, looking confused. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he pondered the situation.

"I'm sure I'll know them when I see them." Ambrosia said stubbornly,.

"Riiight..." Yakko remarked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "A brilliant plan, indeed."

Ambrosia clenched a gloved fist. He was really getting on her nerves.

"Will you just leave me alone?" She snapped, walking past Yakko. The eldest tunred to his siblings, who were looking up at him in confusion about the irritable toon.

"What's eating her?" Dot asked.

Yakko shrugged. "Beats me, sister sib." He paused for a moment his eyes darting back to Ambrosia as she started to stomp off down the street. In his entire life, Yakko had never seen a toon so negative and unwilling to engage in conversation. At least...not in a way that wouldn't offer comedic payoff. What kind of toon didnt have a sense of humor?

Yakko pondered for a moment, then grew bored of such negative thinking. He looked back at his siblings with a bright grin. "Hey, wanna go to the candy store and see how many gumballs Wakko can fit in his mouth?"

* * *

The lunchroom was full of overlapping chatter as students enjoyed their lunch hour. The tables were filled with talkative students as they ate, socialized, or got a head start on their homework for that night. Everyone seemed to have something to do and someone to talk to.

Everyone except our young artist.

Cindy sat at the very end of a table, away from the gathering of students, with her eyes on her Pre-Algebra homework. Her lunch sat practically untouched in front of her, aside from the now empty milk carton and the hamburger she had taken a bite from before becoming queasy. Her appetite over the past few months had been hit and miss. Some days she was able to fit in a meal or two, others even the smallest bite left her stomach in knots. She had wondered at first if this was something to be concerned about...but her parents didn't seem to make much of it, if they had even noticed at all, so she had put it out of her mind.

As Cindy worked at the math problems, she noticed a few of her peers had started stealing curious glances at her. She rolled her eyes. This again. She kept her eyes glued to her work, trying to tune out the whispers.

"That's that Cindy chick, right?"

"Yeah. The one we told you about."

"Did she really-"

"Shhh! Don't let her hear you talking about that. She'll probably flip out on you. Her whole family's crazy like that."

Cindy felt her frustration reach it's limit. She closed her textbook and shoved her things back into her bag. Her lunch tray lay forgotten as she stood up and quickly walked away. The kids at the table all avoided her gaze as Cindy walked past. Cindy rolled her eyes.

 _Whatever. Cowards._

Cindy left the lunchroom, heading towards the library so she could finish out her lunch period in peace. It wasn't that the stares and whispers were anything new to her. Cindy had gotten used to them. Still, it didn't make it any easier to sit and listen as people talked about her pretty much to her face.

As she walked down the hall, she saw a gaggle of fellow freshman girls coming out of the bathroom. In the center was Hailey Wilis. Running her hand through her long, curly black hair as she laughed along with her friends. Cindy felt a rush of emotions when they locked eyes.

Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. And it all showed on her face.

Hailey's laugh faltered a tad, she blinked, then looked away from Cindy's glare. Her friends looked confused for a moment, but then noticed Cindy. One girl rolled her eyes, the other leaned in an whispered something to Hailey, who chuckled nervously as they all walked away.

Cindy's fist clenched, and the urge to slam it into one of the lockers overtook her. She took a breath, closing her eyes and slowly relaxed her hand. She couldn't even look at Hailey these days without becoming furious. Not since-

 _No._ Cindy told herself as tears of anger and frustration welled up in her emerald eyes. _Don't get yourself all upset._

Cindy wiped her tears away and was about to continue on her way when another group of kids walked by. She saw Tyler Holmstrom, a junior, leading the pack. Cindy tried to stop the immediate blush to her face and the butterflies that came to life in her stomach when she saw the tall, blue eyed boy. She quickly looked away and kept on walking when he almost caught her staring at him. Everyone else, including him no doubt already thought she was a weirdo. She didn't need to make it any worse.

Cindy made it to the library and slid into a table in the farthest corner of the room. Burying her nose in her textbook, she forced the math equations to distract her from the swirl of different emotions tumbling around in her head.

* * *

Ambrosia wandered aimlessly through Burbank. At first, she was confident. She was certain that any moment someone would shoot her a second glance and call out to her. However, as the afternoon wore on, her good spirits started to dampen. No matter where she went, she was dismissed. The most "recognition" she received was the occasional double take, as if a toon outside their studio just walking the street wasn't entirely normal. Ambrosia drew back a little as one woman even went so far as to give her the evil eye.

"What?" Ambrosia asked defensively, crossing her arms. "Never seen a bunny before?"

As the afternoon wore on, the toon began to feel her stomach tighten from stress. She was so sure that her creator would have come looking for her by this point. Where were they?

Her earlier thought came back into her mind. Maybe she really had been thrown away...

Ambrosia sat down on the curb as the weight of that idea hit her. There was no way her creator would have done that to her. Was there? Why would they have tossed her before they had even met. Was it something about her? Did she not come out correctly?

That was when Ambrosia remembered that she couldn't use her Toonspeed to get away from the barista this morning. The toon thought for a moment, before reaching behind her to try and pull something, anything, from her hammerspace. When she brought her hand back, nothing was there. The bunny's eyes widened with shock.

She had no toon ability.

Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Ambrosia. Her first real emotion since coming to life, outside her initial confusion and frustration at the situation she had found herself in.

She felt...this strange emptiness inside of her. Way down in the pit of her stomach. It was as if part if her was missing. She wasn't exactly sure what that feeling meant, only that she was certain toons weren't supposed to feel that way. Though she had only been alive for half a day, her instinct told her exactly what she was supposed to be. She was a cartoon. Cartoons were happy. They made people feel good. Why did she feel so...sad?

This just made her wish even more for her creator. They would be able to explain everything to her. After all, who would know her purpose in the world better than the one who thought of it? Unless...they hadn't given her one...but why would they do that?

Ambrosia pressed her hands to the side of her head, growling in frustration. So many new questions piling up on top of the old ones that hadn't even been answered yet...and absolutely no one to answer them.

Ambrosia put her head on her knees, fighting back tears of frustration and sorrow. She didn't even have a home to go back to where she could rest and try and process everything. Not to mention it would be dark in a few hours. Burbank was already such a big and scary place for a lost little toon like her during the day...what would happen to her at night?

She had nowhere to go, and no one to turn to.

 _What do I do now?_

* * *

The Warners ran at full speed down the block with Yakko taking the lead. Wakko was close behind, his mouth full to bursting with gumballs. He kept a firm hold on Dot's hand as he pulled her along.

"Get back here, you little miscreants!" Yelled the owner of the candy store they had just finished tormenting. Covering him was the remains of a banana cream pie Wakko had smashed in his face.

The Warners sped into an ally, ducking behind a dumpster. They stepped back out inside a large trench coat. Yakko holding Wakko on his shoulders while Dot stood on top wearing a hat and comedic mustache. The store owner stopped and looked at the disguised siblings.

"Did you see three Toon kids?"

"Why yes." Dot said in a fake man voice.

"Where are they?"

"Where are who?"

"The kids I just- WAIT A SECOND!"

Found out, the trio threw open the coat to reveal Wakko and Yakko. Yakko and Dot each planted a big smooch on the man before the three of them sped away. The candy store owner took off after them again.

It looked as if he was about to catch them. Wakko turned to his older brother as if silently asking for permission for something. Yakko read his look and nodded with a wink. Wakko leaped around in the air, firing the gumballs from his mouth like a machine gun onto the sidewalk. Their pursuer was taken down, slipping and falling right onto the sidewalk.

They effectively gave him the slip for good as he lay there dazed, coming to a stop.

"Nothing like a good chase scene to end your day, eh sibs?" Yakko asked.

Wakko was about to respond, but noticed Ambrosia sitting on the curb looking like she had lost her best friend. "Hey...its that grumpy hobo from earlier!"

Yakko and Dot turned and spotted the bunny. Yakko saw the sorrow emanating from the lonely toon, and somewhere inside him, those older brother instincts took over. "Hmmm. She looks blue."

"No she doesn't...her fur is white." Wakko pointed out.

Yakko gave his younger brother a slightly annoyed look, before looking back over at Ambrosia. "You guys go ahead back to the lot. I'll catch up after I see whats eating Miss. Cotten Tail."

Wakko and Dot obediently zipped off, leaving Yakko to deploy some diplomatic charm.


	3. Chapter 3

_Her pride wouldn't allow her to see that the answer to her loneliness stood right before her._

* * *

Ambrosia blinked back the tears forming her large green eyes, her head still resting on her knees. A small gust of wind ruffled her fur and skirt, making her shiver and hug her knees closer to herself. She was cold. She was lonely. She was truly miserable.

 _Happy Birthday, Ambrosia..._

The sound of a sad song being played on the violin caught her attention. Ambrosia raised her head, looking confused before she saw Yakko sitting on the curb next to her, playing _Ave Maria_ on a violin with an over exaggerated, teary eyed expression. He looked over at the bunny, responding to her piercing glare with a grin.

"You don't like Beethoven?" He asked innocently.

"It's Bach."

"Huh. That's funny." Yakko paused for a moment, before shrugging. "I didn't even know it left!"

Ambrosia rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue in irritation as she turned away to glare out at the street. Yakko didn't acknowledge the fact she obviously wanted nothing to do with his presence. "Hmmm. Come to think of it, this situation calls for more of a pick-me-up, don't you think?"

Yakko began to play _Caprice for Solo Violin_ , a much faster tune. Ambrosia's annoyed frown deepened. She grabbed the violin from Yakko and threw it into the street. Yakko winced as it got smashed by an oncoming truck.

"Someone doesn't appreciate the classics..."

"What did you not understand about leaving me alone?" Ambrosia asked, allowing her annoyance to coat her voice. She had already had the worst day imaginable and listening to Yakko's smart aleck chatter was not the way she wanted to end it. Yakko blinked, before his face broke out into a grin.

"All of it." He said simply.

"Well, let me define it for you." Ambrosia said, leaning into Yakko's face and poking him in the chest. "It means I don't want you around and you should go away." She huffed and plopped her head back down onto her knees. Yakko gave a bored expression to no one.

"Gee. Where have I heard _that_ one before?" He asked aloud. He glanced back down at Ambrosia, who began to sniffle again. An uncomfortable look passed over his face. It wasn't like he wasn't used to dealing with someone being sad. He cheered up his silblings all the time. They just would have at least cracked a smile at the Bach joke...

Yakko decided to change his approach a little and strike up a conversation, hoping to get some information out of the toon.

"Look. I saw you sitting here looking like you could use a pal and-"

"Well you must be in need of an eye exam because I don't." Ambrosia snapped back, lifting her head up again. She had quickly gone from annoyed to just plain angry. Yakko was taken aback by her attitude. He frowned a bit, fixing her with a stern look with his arms crossed.

"Mind telling me who spit in your spaghetti, Ambrosia the Grouch?" He asked. "Cause I've seen some sour grapes in my day but at least _they_ were a bit more fun to talk to."

"Well if I'm no fun why don't you buzz off?"

Yakko was about to fire back with a snarky responce, but he was cut off by an angry yell.

"Found you, you little miscreant!"

Yakko and Ambrosia jumped, and looked to see that the store owner the Warner's had given the slip had caught up.

"Someone's persistent..." Yakko mused in an almost bored tone before heaving a sigh. As if this whole chase was becoming a chore at this point. "I think it's time we split!" He said to Ambrosia, his grin returning. Ambrosia narrowed her eyes at him. "What's this "we" thing? He's after you, not me..."

Just then a car screeched to a stop. The driver's door opened and the barista from earlier, sporting some bumps, got out of the car with pure fury in his eyes.

"You!" He spat at Ambrosia, who was at a loss for words.

"How does that even-"

"Plot convenience." Yakko stated, putting a finger to Ambrosia's lips. "Let's scram."

With that, Yakko had popped smoke, quickly running down the block. Ambrosia took off after him, but her lack of Toonspeed made it impossible to keep up with the eldest Warner sibling. She stole a terrified glance behind her as she saw the barista and store owner both quickly gaining on her. She kicked over a trash can as she ran by, buying her a very brief moment to get ahead.

As she ran, she squeezed her eyes shut. She tried with all her might to summon even a little bit of an extra boost.

 _Come ON! Just a little bit of speed..._

Nothing. If anything, Ambrosia was starting to get tired. She felt her pace slowing as the angry humans began to close the gap between them.

Up ahead, Yakko was zooming off with a superior look on his face. Running from people was so easy it almost wasn't fun. He turned to voice this to Ambrosia, only to find she wasn't there.

"Huh?"

He glanced behind him, slidding to a stop as he saw her a good distance away running at a normal speed. The barista and store owner were almost within arms reach of her. Why wasn't she zooming?

Rolling his eyes, he went back to her rescue. Yakko quickly backtracked to the nearest allyway and, whistling casually while he worked at lightining speed, pulled an arrow sign from his hammerspace, placing it to point down the ally. He then painted the wall at the end to look like it emptied out onto another sidewalk. He took a second to admire his handiwork before positioning himself on the streetlight.

Down the street, Ambrosia had kicked more obstacles between her and her pursuers. She had gained a reasonable distance, advancing towards the ally that Yakko had set up his trap in. As Ambrosia ran under the street light, Yakko reached down, his arms extending cartoonishly, and plucked her from the ground and covered her mouth to stifle her yelp of suprise.

The men soon caught up and looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where the pair had gone. Suddenly, the barista pointed to the sign. Ambrosia watched, amazed at the sheer stupidity of the human men as they sprinted down the ally, only to collide with a loud crash right into the wall. They topled unconscious to the ground.

Yakko grinned at the stunned bunny toon. "Harvard grade intellect, aren't they?" He quiped. Ambrosia looked at Yakko almost sternly. "They could have brain damage now, you know."

"I assumed they ready did considering how easy that was."

Ambrosia wasn't amused. Yakko rolled his eyes. "Oh come on now. How was that not even a little bit funny to you?" Gee wiz, this toon was a tough crowd.

Ambrosia climbed down from the street light. When she reached the bottom, Yakko was already there leaning against it with his palm. Ambrosia squeaked in surprise.

"Can you stop with the Toonspeed?" She snaps. Yakko raises a brow. "Can you start?" He countered. "Why didn't you zoom off back there? Those bozos almost got ya."

Ambrosia felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. She quickly hid it, placing her hands on her hips and fixing Yakko with another hard look.

"I didn't need it. I could have outrun them just fine by myself."

Yakko just stared at her with a raised brow and a smirk that said he highly doubted that, which caused Ambrosia to become even more frustrated. She knew deep down that she didn't at all have that situation covered; but she wasn't about to let Yakko know that.

"Don't you have other things to do outside being an annoying jerk?" She fired back. Yakko held his superior looking expression, crossing his arms. "Nope. My schedule is pretty booked solid with being an annoying jerk. Except for my 5 minute block where I'm the annoying jerk that just saved your butt for the second time today, that is."

"I didn't need you to save me!"

"That's not what it looked like to me."

Ambrosia was about to fire back, but realized he was right. The bunny fumed for a moment, her cheeks turning an embarrassed shade of red. "You know what. Forget it!" She yelled. "I don't have time to sit here and debate with some cocky little jerk! I have a creator to find." She turned on her heel to walk away.

"That's another thing." Yakko said, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around aagin. "It's going to be sundown in a few hours and you don't even know who it is you're looking for. What are you going to do on the streets at night? In case you haven't noticed, toons don't tend to go out all that much."

"You and your siblings seem to get around just fine." The bunny argued.

"Sure, during the day. The nightlife here is a different story." Yakko said, crinkling his nose a bit. "You don't want to spend your night in a dark, moldy ally. Why don't you just come back with me to Warner?" Normally Yakko wouldn't be too concerned with what was going on in the life of someone he had just met; but it didn't take much to see that Ambrosia wasn't very good at fending for herself. Besides...she was a toon. Toons help toons.

Ambrosia didn't seem excited by the offer. "Thanks but no thanks. I can take care of myself just fine. Besides. I'll find my creator before nightfall easy." She was bluffing and she knew it. She hadn't had any luck all day; and was fairly certain it wasn't going to change over the next few hours. However just like the fact she had no toon powers...she had no intention on letting Yakko know she had been abandoned. It was just so pitiful.

Yakko rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated with her stubbornness. "Fine. If you're so sure." He replied, placing his hands behind his back with a casual shrug. "But don't say I didn't warn you." He turned and started walking down the block. He paused after a moment or two, looking back at Ambrosia over his shoulder. "After all. It's only has a super large animation team...and I'm sure _none_ of them would be worth crossing off the list..." he added sarcastically with a knowing smirk. Ambrosia crinkled her nose at him in annoyance as he turned and walked away, leaving her alone on the sidewalk.

* * *

A few hours later, at the Blakeman residence, Cindy sat on her bed sketching and listing to her discman. She had a hard look on her face, almost zoning out and she worked on her piece. She had always found her art as a brilliant means of escape. She was able to pour all of her feelings onto paper. At the present moment, she was drawing a girl standing alone in a dark hallway, a sea of people going about their business. The other people were all drawn in detail, but the girl was faceless and blurred.

As she drew, she tried to ignore the hunger pains in her stomach. There wasn't any food in the house, at least not any with nutritional value; and skipping lunch had proved to be a costly mistake. Cindy closed her eyes as her stomach growled and a wave of nausea washed over her. She set down her drawing and went to stand up, figuring a second glance at the fridge wouldn't hurt.

Before she made it to the door, the muffled sound of yelling rose over her music. Her parents were in the living room fighting. Cindy stood there, her eyes on her closed bedroom door, as she turned her music down a little in order to listen.

She hadn't caught enough to know what exactly today's argument was about; but it hardly mattered. If Cindy took the time to sit down and make a list about what her mom and dad DIDN'T fight about...she most likely wouldn't come up with more than three. However from what she could deduce, it had to do with money. Their bills had been late again.

Cindy mentally rolled her eyes. Why was anyone suprised that they didn't have money to pay for any of the important things? With how much time her father spends out every night, the teenager was suprised there was a single cent left in the bank. Not to mention her mother being a lover of the finer things in life. Honestly. Cindy could make fifty bucks last longer than they could a thousand.

A sudden crash and the sound of breaking glass made Cindy jump. Her father had angrily thrown something. Then again. Then again. All the teenage girl could hear other than the sound of her dad raging was the sound of glass repeatedly being shattered. Cindy backed up and, discarding her discman, lay down on her bed, wrapping her pillow around her head in an attempt to block out the ugly noise of the fight as it grew steadily worse, and closed her eyes.

It went on like that for several more minutes until her father said something along the lines of not wasting his time and she heard him stomp towards the door. Not long after, she heard her parents' bedroom door slam as well.

As soon as Cindy could no longer hear any movement, she quietly crept out of her room to review the damage. Plates, cups and other dishes were in remains all over the already dirty floor. Shards practically covered the tile and there was nowhere the barefoot teen could even think to step that wouldnt cause her to be cut.

Sighing, Cindy quietly moved towards the closet and grabbed a broom. Knowing full well she was the only one who was going to do anything about the mess.

After clearing away the broken glass, she quietly moved to the fridge. As suspected, she found nothing. Cindy sighed in frustration, leaning back on the counter. She checked the clock. 6:45pm. The pizza man could be her saving grace.

Cindy went back to her room and grabbed a jar of money from her closet, cash saved up from babysitting and other odd jobs she had done over the summer. She took out enough for her dinner and hid the jar back in her closet. She hadn't told her parents about her stash. She knew if she had told them about her emergency money, they'd demand it from her.

As she quietly placed the order for dinner, she stole a glance at the broken glass filling the trash can. She hoped her father stayed out until at least after she had gone to bed...


	4. Chapter 4

_He had extended a hand, but she pushed it away. Now she was alone without a friend._

* * *

The morning sun rose over the rooftops of the buildings as they towered over the city. People walked up and down the streets as they went about their morning routines. Though the day had only just begun, a cacophony of horns blared as people braved the Burbank traffic on their way to work.

In the shadows of a nearby ally, Ambrosia lay, still fast asleep, curled up under a discarded newspaper. It had been a long night for the poor toon. She hadn't been able to find any dinner; having no money on her. What's more...the people on the street didn't seem too keen to help out a cartoon. She got a few pitying stares from people, but for the most part Ambrosia had been overlooked completely. It was as if people regarded her as out of place.

With an empty stomach and feeling as down as anyone could probably get, Ambrosia had no choice to accept the obvious.

There was nobody out looking for her.

It was a horrible feeling to want so desperately to go home but have no home to go to. Ambrosia had been forced to find the driest allyway and curl up under the warmest bit of newspaper she could find. The rest of the night had consisted of the lost little toon struggling to sleep with the sound of the nightlife. She couldn't understand how, even in the dead of night when everything is closed, that there would still be the never ending sound of cars honking.

Having been kept up over half the night, Ambrosia snoozed on; desperately trying to get just a little more sleep before it was time to figure out her next move. However, she was about to be interrupted by a pair of toons that had also taken refuge in the ally.

From the dumpster popped out Rita and Runt. The cat and dog duo yawned and stretched out their arms as both of their stomachs gave equally loud rumbles.

"Boy," Rita remarked. "Been a bit since our last meal, huh?"

"Duhh, definitely. Yeah, definitely a bit, Rita."

"What do you say we go find some poor sap to butter up and get some scrapes out of?"

Runt nodded his head vigorously and Rita prepared to pounce to the ground. Right before takeoff, the cat noticed Ambrosia circled up not too far away. "Hey, Runt! Look! She wasn't there when we got here last night..."

Runt tilted his head to one side as he too caught sight of the rabbit.

"She looks lost. Definitely. Definitely lost."

Rita nodded along in agreement. "She's preaching to the choir. C'mon, Runt."

Rita hopped down and padded over to where Ambrosia lay in her fitful sleep. Runt followed close behind. The rabbit toon tossed and turned for a moment as their shadows fell over her. Her eyes fluttered open and she was greeted by Rita and Runt peering down at her; Rita eyeing her inquisitivly while Runt panted happily.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Ambrosia yelled and scrambled up and away as Rita and Runt, startled by Ambrosia's reaction to them, jumped back in alarm. "Woah woah woah, girl, calm down." Rita exclaimed.

Ambrosia, who had backed all the way up to the wall, took a few deep breaths. "Who are you guys?" She demanded, eyeing them suspiciously. The last toons she met in an ally turned out to feature the most aggravating being she had ever met.

"The names Rita."

"And I'm Runt!" The dog toon said, standing tall with pride. "We're just a couple of good dogs. Yep. Definitely good dogs."

Ambrosia blinked. She opened her mouth to tell Runt that his companion wasn't a dog, but decided she really didn't want to deal with more insanity so early in the morning. "That's nice." Ambrosia said in a clipped tone. "Well. It was nice meeting you."

The rabbit went to stride away, but the two homeless toons side stepped in front of her.

"Hold up, there!" Rita said. "Whatcha doing out in the city all alone?"

Ambrosia crossed her arms. "Nothing that I don't have under control. Though, I could ask you both the same thing."

"Oh, we travel around as we please." Rita said dismissively. "We don't have a home." Runt whimpered a little, placing his head on his paws. Ambrosia, against her better judgment, felt sympathy tug at her heartstrings. She could relate. "...Me either." She admitted with a sigh.

"Aww..." Rita tilted her head, looking at Ambrosia sympathetically. "You were drawn homeless too?" She tutted. "What is it with animators and their obsession with sad backstories?"

Ambrosia twisted the hem of her skit nervously. "Actually. I'm not exactly sure I have a backstory."

Noticing Rita and Runt's confused looks, the rabbit sighed and started to explain. Rita and Runt were good listeners, and kept quiet until Ambrosia had caught them up to speed. Rita put a paw to her mouth thoughtfully and Runt looked dazed and confused.

"Hmm. So you're saying you haven't even _seen_ your creator?" Rita pondered. "Wow...they could be literally anyone...could they?"

Ambrosia nodded glumly. "Yeah. Thanks for the reminder."

The cat and dog were quiet for a moment, and then shared a look of agreement. "Well. We were going to dig through the trash cans over at Warner if you wanted to tag along? They have an big animation studio. Even if it's a dead end, it's worth looking into."

Ambrosia stiffened. That was the studio Yakko had mentioned the night before; and she really didn't want to see his smug look if he saw her taking his advice after all.

Still...Rita had a point.

Ambrosia was silent for another moment, before nodding. "Sounds like a good plan."

* * *

At that same time over at the lot, Yakko was finishing up a masterpiece of a breakfast. A giant plate of scrambled eggs, a barrel's worth of a bacon and the pièce de résistance: a tower of waffles. One would think this would qualify as going overboard for just three kids. However, anyone that would say that didn't know Wakko.

Toons didn't need food to survive. Not being particularly "alive" in a spiritual sense, they could get along just fine without needing to eat. Still, it was fun. They could still taste things and become hungry. As funny the irony of it was, no one thought too much into it.

Yakko strolled through the water tower and over to the bunk beds where Wakko and Dot lay, still asleep. The eldest took a moment to smile lovingly down at his beloved sibs' sleeping forms, thinking to himself how precious they looked asleep, before (and all the while not breaking his soft expression) pulling an air-horn from his hammer-space and squeezing it. Wakko and Dot woke screaming in shock, before glaring at their older brother; who merely shrugged with a cheeky smirk.

"Breakfast, anyone?"

The younger two perked up, Wakko revving up like a race-car and racing away towards the aroma of food. Dot glared after him.

"Wakko don't you dare!" The youngest sibling yelled, running after him.

Yakko stood there watching, watching her go with his arms crossed and wearing an amused expression. Chuckling to himself, he made his way towards the breakfast table where Wakko was inhaling waffles like a vacuum-literally.

"So, sibs, what do you wanna do today?" The eldest asked, eyes brimming with mischief.

Wakko and Dot pondered for a moment, before they each snapped their fingers.

"Visit Mr. Plotz!"

"Eat cheesecake!"

"Go see Scratchy!"

"Go to a hot dog stand!"

"Find Mel Brooks' summer home!"

"VISIT A CANDY STORE!"

Yakko grinned, looking amused yet overwhelmed. He held up his hands in defeat. "Okay o-kay! We'll be able to squeeze in _most_ of that." He raised his brows. "And maybe, while were in the neighborhood, see if we can find a one Michelle Pfeiffer..."

* * *

At the studio gates, Ralph sat eating a donut and yawning. As he tended to his monotonous duties, Ambrosia and her two new companions came creeping up, making sure to stay hidden from the security guard's view. The three wayward toons managed to dart right past the security guard as he was distracted by the arrival of the Hollywood elite.

Ambrosia, having never seen a studio in her short existence, stood in awe at the glitz and glamour. The stars making their way across the lot, the large sound stages, the gleaming water tower casting a shadow over the area. bearing the studios logo proudly. Ambrosia sniffed the air deeply as they passed by the studio cafeteria. Her stomach rumbled as she realized how hungry she was, but the rabbit shook it off. She would think about food later. There was a larger task at hand at the moment.

The three toons made their way across the lot, Rita leading the charge to the animation studio. The little rabbit toon couldn't help but feel starstruck, especially when they passed other toons. Though she had been alive a day and had never met any of them, her toon heart knew her predecessors instinctively. Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Babs and Buster Bunny, their presence sent a nervous tremor through her. As they reached the entrance, Ambrosia stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well. This is where we leave ya, kid." Rita stated. Ambrosia looked at the cat, anxiety welling up inside her. Rita caught the look and smiled reassuringly. "Aw, don't worry. We'll be seeing you around. This is your thing. Let us know if you find your answers in here."

Runt gave her a hearty lick goodbye and, with that, the two departed. Ambrosia waved at them halfheartedly before turning back to the scene before her. She was scared, to say the least. As much as she hoped her creator was in there, she had no idea what to say or do.

The rabbit took a deep breath and l, despite her fears, marched inside.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long hiatus! I've returned! Hopefully I can keep the writer's block at bay. No Cindy this chapter. Her storyline isn't as developed as I would like so she won't be present in every chapter.**


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